Amidst a growing body of research exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, University of Guelph researchers are aiming to reframe the way we think about disruptive emergencies to better prepare, particularly in rural communities.
Amanda Mongeon, PhD candidate in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (SEDRD), has co-authored a report with Dr. Leith Deacon, of SEDRD and Dr. Kate Mulligan, of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.
Amanda Mongeon
The report, based on Mongeon's doctoral research, was supported by Deacon, Mulligan and a community-based project advisory committee.
"We were not prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic," Mongeon says. "It was an unprecedented tragedy for many people across the world that led to a synergistic epidemic, or syndemic, in which pre-existing health, social and environmental inequities proliferated alongside infectious diseases," she explains.
Future disruptions of this nature are inevitable, she says, and the current emergency management approach is insufficient.
Rural-proofing emergency management after COVID-19
A two-year qualitative study in rural Northern Ontario explored the experiences of seven municipalities with populations of 10,000 or fewer. Researchers surveyed documents, council meeting agendas and minutes, conducted interviews with municipal staff, elected leaders and local public health representatives.
Four core areas of improvement were identified to rural-proof emergency management in Canada, including:
- Clarifying emergency management framework
- Increasing system capacity for emergency management
- Enhancing understanding of rural emergency management
- Modernizing emergency management strategies
The area surveyed contains 88 per cent of Ontario's landmass and six per cent of its population. The municipalities are all single tier, but public health is managed regionally. There are fewer doctors in this area compared to Southern Ontario as well as digital disparities; only 73 per cent of Northern Ontario households have quality broadband (internet).
Dr. Leith Deacon
These statistics help paint a picture of how rural needs are different from urban needs, providing evidence that blanket policies or one-size-fits-all approaches to emergencies do not work.
The study's findings underscore challenges common to many rural communities such as unequal investment in emergency preparedness, proximity to natural environments and colonial histories. And emergencies are not limited to health or viruses, but include economics, extreme weather and natural disasters.
"These disruptions are now the norm, not the exception," Mongeon says, "leaving us feeling as though this research is long overdue."
In addition to the four identified areas, the report offers 19 sub-recommendations and suggests roles for multiple levels of government, the public health sector and communities.
Among them are suggestions to clarify the language and frameworks used for emergency management; broadening participation in emergency management to remedy bias (including members of the public and Indigenous community members who know best what their communities need); understanding how emergency management needs to be adapted to rural contexts and modernizing approaches to emergency management to align with current practices.
These insights, gleaned from one province, are applicable to rural communities across the country, Deacon says.
U of G research aims to inform Ontario's Emergency Management Act
The recommendations were submitted earlier this year to the province's engagement on modernization of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. The research, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, was also shared with Northern Ontario public health units and municipal associations.
Developing policies that address diverse access to health and social services, low population density, unique leadership dynamics, communications and infrastructure limitations and physical resource availability will help, Deacon says.
To strengthen rural communities' ability to respond, researchers say embracing change as a regular aspect of life shifts the perception of an emergency being short-term with no significant lasting impact.
"We know now there have been significant changes across health and social realms," Mongeon says, requiring the need to expand emergency response tools.
"Emergencies are happening more frequently. The need to integrate health promotion into emergency management, recognize the prevalence of social emergencies and focus on reducing vulnerabilities and risk is vital."
